Minnesota Timberwolves: Ben Simmons trade is possible

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 05: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers walks up the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 5, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 05: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers walks up the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 5, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Gersson Rosas, have been aggressive in the trade market before. It is likely that will continue to be the case.

The Minnesota Timberwolves hired Gersson Rosas last offseason from the Houston Rockets’ front office. Recently, Daryl Morey was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers following him stepping down from his position with the Rockets.

Obviously, there is a connection between Rosas and Morey, and they have made deals with each other in the past, most notably the four-team-13-player trade that sent Robert Covington to Houston in exchange for Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, and the Nets’ first round draft pick.

That said, a Ben Simmons trade would be on a completely different level than one involving just role players. The Minnesota Timberwolves would have to be willing to part with a lot in order to obtain him.

Daryl Morey is known for his money-ball style as a general manager where he uses analytics to find talent where most teams do not look. Alongside Mike D’Antoni, they ran a five-out offense for the majority of last season following the trade deadline. Simmons is not James Harden, though, so it will be interesting to see if the 76ers re-evaluate their roster as a whole or continue to build around Simmons and Embiid.

For the Timberwolves, there is an opportunity, though – or at least something resembling one. While the overall depth of the roster is not great, Minnesota could potentially put together a package that would be intriguing for a 76ers team that does not have much spacing – and though nothing is likely to ever come of talks (as Simmons is one of the best young players in the game), at least exploring options with Morey could never hurt.

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Minnesota would have to work around the idea of possibly trading recently-acquired guard D’Angelo Russell – as there just is not much else on the roster that would be appealing enough for Philadelphia to consider trading their best asset. Regardless, though, such a situation is at least worth exploring.